KPL
(KPL) Participants of the annual meeting on locust prevention and control for 2016, which was held on Feb 6, were told that locusts had destroyed more than 4,000 ha of farmland in the northern provinces last year.
Locusts
Manythone Keolangsy
(KPL) Participants of the annual meeting on locust prevention and control for 2016, which was held on Feb 6, were told that locusts had destroyed more than 4,000 ha of farmland in the northern provinces last year.
Attendees of the meeting, attended by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bounkhouang Khambounheuang and Vice Governors from the affected provinces, were told that a number of natural disasters affected the northern provinces last year, namely droughts and floods, as well as locust infestations.
Five northern provinces were hard hit by locust infestations and floods. As a result, 4,128 ha of farmland were destroyed including over 1,700 ha in Huaphan, over 1,700 ha in Luang Prabang, and more than 440 ha in Phongsaly.
Forty-eight ha of farmland in Xieng Khuang, and 67 ha in Oudomxay were also destroyed by the locusts and floods.
Rice, maize and various kinds of cash crops including bamboo and bananas were largely destroyed by the disasters.
Last year, Ngoy district, Luang Prabang Province, spent more than 100 million kip (over US$12,000) to buy chemicals to kill the locusts that had been destroying cash crops in 92 areas in 30 villages.
The relevant sectors also exerted control and preventive measures against the invading locust population. These included a ban on moving live locusts outside of the infested areas and trainings for local authorities on how to cope with increasing locust populations using proper techniques and equipment.
KPL
